Artists Series Presents Anonymous 4

The Grace Goudy Distinguished Artists Series celebrates its 25th anniversary season with a performance by the internationally acclaimed vocal quartet, Anonymous 4, Friday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. in Hudson Hall at Willamette University. They will perform The Cherry Tree Carol, a program of medieval songs, carols and ballads for Christmas.

Renowned for their haunting a cappella selections and virtuosic ensemble singing, the all-female quartet has performed throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and is a much-anticipated guest at major international festivals. Their music has been called mesmerizing and unearthly.

"Hearing Anonymous 4 is about as close as you're going to get on this earth to hearing angels sing," wrote Roots 66.

The quartet was founded in 1986 to sing medieval music — mostly sacred, mostly by anonymous composers, and almost entirely unfamiliar to the public — without instrumental accompaniment.

Little written music survived the Middle Ages, and few contemporary musicians know how to read it. Piecing together compositions of people like Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century nun, takes musical, literary and historical scholarship, along with educated guesswork, and so the quartet's unique re-creation of medieval music gained them a rapid and loyal following.

But no one, least of all the singers themselves, expected the fame that followed the release of their debut recording in 1993. An English Ladymass zoomed onto Billboard magazine's bestseller chart and was named Classical Disc of the Year by CD Review. Since then, Anonymous 4 has achieved a popularity unheard of for a medieval music ensemble: Almost all of its CDs have reached Billboard's Classical Top Ten list, and the group has sold nearly two million CDs worldwide. Their long string of accolades includes Editor's Choice Awards from Gramophone, ClassicsToday.com's highest rating, Amazon.com's Top 25 Classical CDs list for 2005, and two consecutive years as one of Billboard's Top Classical Artists of the Year. Their CD American Angels, featuring 18th–20th century folk psalmody, hymnody and gospel songs, enjoyed a 76-week run on Billboard's Top Classical Chart.

Anonymous 4 has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, including NPR's All Things Considered, Performance Today and Weekend Edition, as well as St. Paul Sunday and Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. The quartet has been featured as the voice of Joan of Arc in an oratorio and invited to perform with symphonies and orchestras.

In recent years the ensemble has branched into contemporary music and Americana. Current members include Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer and Jacqueline Horner-Kwiatek.

Anonymous 4 will present a free master class with Willamette's choral ensemble, Voce Femminile, Friday, Dec. 5, at 11:30 a.m. in Hudson Hall. The public is invited.

The concert will be in Hudson Hall in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center on the Willamette campus, at 900 State Street in Salem. Tickets are $20 for adults and $12 for students and seniors (plus a service charge), and are available at the Pentacle Theatre Ticket Office at 145 Liberty St. NE in downtown Salem, or by phone at (503) 485-4300. For concert information call the Willamette Music Department at (503) 370-6255. Visit www.anonymous4.com for links to CDs, recordings and group information.

The Distinquished Artists Series continues Sunday, Feb. 8, with a recital by renowned pianist Xu Zhong.

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Hallie Ford Museum of Art to Close for Thanksgiving

In observance of Thanksgiving, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University will close Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 3 p.m. and re-open Saturday, Nov. 29, at 10 a.m.

In addition to permanent galleries devoted to historical and contemporary art, the museum features two special exhibitions through the end of the year.

The Second Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts Biennial continues through Dec. 23 in the Study Gallery. Organized by Crow’s Shadow Master Printer Frank Janzen and Willamette Professor Rebecca Dobkins, the exhibition features a selection of contemporary prints by Native American artists created at the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts on the Umatilla Reservation in northeastern Oregon.

The Art of Ceremony: Regalia of Native Oregon is on display through Jan. 18 in the Melvin Henderson-Rubio Gallery. Organized by Dobkins in partnership with tribal leaders, artists and collectors, the exhibition introduces nontribal audiences to the history, beauty and function of ceremonial regalia within tribal life and thought.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Mondays. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855 or visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art.

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Jazz Night Features Willamette Musicians

The Willamette University Music Department presents Jazz Night in Smith Friday, Nov. 21, at 7:30 pm. in Smith Auditorium at Willamette. Doors open at 7 p.m. and admission is free.
 
Jazz Night in Smith features the Willamette University Jazz Ensemble directed by Stan Bock, the Willamette Singers directed by Wallace Long, and several jazz combos.
 
The Willamette Singers program will include a Blood, Sweat & Tears arrangement of “God Bless the Child,” as well as an arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing.”
 
The Willamette Singers is a 17-member vocal jazz ensemble. Their 12th CD, A’ Train, was released in 2008 and will be on sale at the concert.
 
The group has performed at regional, national and international conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, the Music Educators National Conference, the Oregon Music Educators Music Association, and the International Association of Jazz Educators.
 
Willamette students Steven Branch and Shauna Carattini from the Salem area will perform in the concert.
 
The public is welcome. For more information call Diane at (503) 370-6255.

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Undefeated Bearcats Head to Playoffs

Willamette University's football team finished the regular season 10-0, the first time since 1997, and opens the NCAA Division III Playoffs this Saturday, Nov. 22, by hosting Occidental College at McCulloch Stadium. Game time is noon.

"It's really an honor to represent the Northwest," said Willamette Head Coach Mark Speckman. "We're happy for our seniors, happy for our team and happy for our community."

The Bearcats moved up four spots in this week's D3Football.com Top 25 and are now #6 in the poll of coaches, sports information directors and media representatives.

Willamette is the #1 seed, and Occidental, with a 9-0 record, is the #2 seed in the West Region. The winner of the Willamette-Occidental game will play the winner of the first round game between defending national champion the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (9-1) and St. John's University, Minn. (8-2).

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Willamette University Dance Theatre Presents Making the Way

Willamette University Dance Theatre presents its 2008 dance concert, Making the Way. A preview will be shown Thursday, Nov. 20, with regular performances Nov. 21 and 22, all at 7:30 p.m. A Sunday matinee will be held Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. All performances will be in Kresge Theatre on the Willamette campus. The performance will explore diverse dance and music styles, incorporating theatrical elements of design, acting and narrative.

Willamette dance instructor Virginia Belt choreographed several pieces, including Last Fall, which incorporates music from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem. The piece, based on Auguste Rodin's Gates of Hell, portrays the abstract journey of the descent into hell, and is a resetting of a piece Belt previously choreographed for a professional dance company.

Willamette dance instructor Katherine Sanders choreographed three pieces that cover a full spectrum of dance styles and energy, from modern to jazz to hip hop. Students Alexandra Ninneman and Tessa Allen have choreographed a piece that focuses on the concept of conflict and chaos within oneself.

Technical elements of the production will by coordinated by Theatre Department faculty, staff and students. Instructor and resident designer Bobby Brewer-Wallin designed the costumes, and student Anthony Harvey designed the lights, with the assistance of Willamette alumnus Ben Crop.

Please note that evening curtain times have changed to 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Willamette University Box Office at (503) 370-6221 or emailing thtr-tix@willamette.edu. Opening night performances are $12 for general admission and $8 for students and seniors. Most other evening performances are $10 for general admission and $6 for students and seniors. Please contact the Box Office for specific pricing and details. The Willamette campus is located at 900 State St. in Salem. For more information contact the Theatre Department at (503) 370-6222 or visit www.willamette.edu/cla/theatre.

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Professor Emeritus Discusses Decline of Nature and Challenges to Sustainability

Professor Emeritus Gilbert LaFreniere of Willamette University’s Environmental and Earth Sciences Department will speak about the major findings of his book, The Decline of Nature, in a free lecture Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. in Collins Science Center, Room 210, at Willamette University.

LaFreniere has been a professor of environmental and earth sciences at Willamette for many years. He also worked as a trained geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies in California.

LaFreniere combines personal experiences exploring the natural history of Europe, New England, California, the Pacific Northwest and Canada with advanced degrees in both geology and history to create a unique synthesis of philosophy, history and science. In the context of his new book, he will examine long-term environmental problems known as “ultra vire” (beyond political jurisdiction) and their challenges to future sustainability. These problems include biodiversity loss, climate change, nuclear waste, population, overconsumption and resource constraints that impinge upon economic growth. More wealth and technological innovation will be dedicated to energy efficiency, but as we shift to alternative energy sources this will affect funding for the preservation of ecosystems and species.

This event is open to the public and will be followed with a book signing with the author. This lecture is sponsored by the Willamette University Center for Sustainable Communities and the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences.

For more information call Andrea Foust at (503) 370-6654.

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Dramatic Vocal Arts presents operatic scenes

The Dramatic Vocal Arts ensemble at Willamette University will present an evening of operatic scenes Saturday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. in Hudson Hall on the Willamette campus. Allison Swensen-Mitchell will direct and Noreen Murdock will provide piano accompaniment. Willamette students will perform scenes from Verdi’s La Traviata, Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Mozarts’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes and Kurt Weill's Street Scene.

Hudson Hall is located in the Rogers Music Center on campus, at 900 State Street in Salem. Admission is free and no tickets are required. For information contact the Willamette Music Department at (503) 370-6255.

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Museum Exhibits Work of Salem Mixed Media Artist

A small exhibition of mixed media constructions and notebooks from D.E. May, a nationally recognized Salem artist who creates mixed media works from cardboard, paper and other found material, is on display now through Dec. 21 in the Print Study Center at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University.

Organized by artist Dan May and Willamette art history student Alisa Alexander, under the guidance and direction of Professor Roger Hull, D.E. May: The Artist as Archivist represents the second time May has shown his work at the Hallie Ford Museum and the first time he has shown in the Print Study Center, his favorite space in the building.

The exhibition features about two dozen works drawn from local and regional collections, including several large ephemera installations. May’s work conjures many rich and varied associations that are at times obvious and at other times elusive and ethereal.

The exhibition is supported in part by grants from the City of Salem’s Transient Occupancy Tax funds and the Oregon Arts Commission.

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art is located at 700 State St. (corner of State and Cottage streets) in downtown Salem near the campus of Willamette University. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. The galleries are closed Monday. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for seniors and students. Children younger than 12 are admitted free, and Tuesday is an admission-free day. For more information, call (503) 370-6855.

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Federal Public Defender of Oregon Visits Willamette University

The Center for Religion, Law and Democracy at Willamette University presents Steven T. Wax, author of Kafka Comes to America: Fighting for Justice in the War on Terror, a Public Defender's Inside Account, at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in Paulus Great Hall at the College of Law. This event is free and open to the public.

Wax is in his sixth term as the Federal Public Defender of Oregon. A graduate of Colgate University and Harvard Law School, he was a key part of the Brooklyn, N.Y. district attorney’s prosecution of David Berkowitz, a.k.a. “The Son of Sam.” Wax and his team are currently representing seven men held as “enemy combatants” in Guantanamo Bay. He has taught at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, serves as an ethics prosecutor for the Oregon State Bar and lectures throughout the country.

For more information, contact Reyna Meyers with the Center for Religion, Law and Democracy at (503) 370-6046.

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Panelists to Offer Post-Election Insights

The Center for Religion, Law and Democracy at Willamette University will host a post-election panel discussion to address the impact of religion on the 2008 election and the future role of religion in the upcoming administration, in Congress and in Oregon politics.

The panel discussion will be Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. in Paulus Great Hall at the Willamette University College of Law. This event is free and open to the public.

Panelists include Mara Vanderslice of the Matthew 25 Network, a national grassroots mobilization group for evangelical Christians; Bill Lunch, chair of the Oregon State University department of political science and a political analyst for Oregon Public Broadcasting; and Michael Sean Winters, who writes about politics and Catholicism for a variety of national publications including the Washington Post and America: The National Catholic Weekly.

This event is the last in a three-part series on “Religion and the 2008 Election.” For more information, contact Reyna Meyers at (503) 370-6046 or rmeyers@willamette.edu.

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